Saturday, 5 March 2016

I've come to the end of the best decision I have ever made in my life. Honestly, I sometimes thought I would never get to this point, but here I am. I don't think it has sunk in yet.

I regret nothing about serving a full-time mission. If any of you are wondering if it's worth giving up your cell phones, education, job, girlfriend or boyfriend, likes on twitter, facebook, and instagram, sleep and time, and getting out of your comfort zone...it is! It ABSOULTELY is.

I know the only way to be truly happy is to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this is His church once again established on the earth. The Book of Mormon is true. I know that the Savior atoned for my sins/your sins and that repentance is real. It works. I know Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today. I know that the temple is the House of God where families can be sealed together forever.

Every trial I've faced for the past 18 months has not only been matched with, but has been easily surpassed by the amount of blessings that I've sen in my life and in the lives of those I've served. This wasn't 18 months of sacrifice. I was blessed for every single one of the months, weeks and days I've spent here.

I love my Savior and Father in Heaven. I love the Filipino people and I love my mission.

This has been a great week. We had a service project as a zone on Thursday and then a mission conference on Friday with PRESIDENT RUSSELL M. NELSON, of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. I didn't get to speak with him personally but We all got to shake his hand and look into his eyes and I got a spot on the very front row. That man is truly a representative of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Special little memory for me.

Today we went to the zoo!

A little BYU love!

I can now officially call my mission complete. I got kissed by an orangutan in the Philippines.

Seriously though, I feel at peace about everything. I know that I've done what I could as I've been here in the mission and that the Lord is pleased with the work I've done as I continue to work till the last day!

I hope you all had a good Valentines Day and are continuting to grow closer to your Savior. It's the only way to be truly happy. I love the Savior. I love my mission. I love you all!

We wore our dusters (nightgowns) for valentines morning and made ourselves heart shaped pancakes. It was a good way to celebrate.

BALUT?!?!

Can you believe Taylor finally ate balut?! It's a developing duck embryo that is boiled and then eaten in the shell! It's a Filipino delicacy and it was served to her by her recently baptized friends. She couldn't say no. I wish i could insert the surprised and grossed out emoji here ;)

Another Day, Another Dollar

February 7, 2016

I'm not really sure why, but that's something my companion and I say to each other every night before we go to bed as we turn out the lights. She said it's from Spongebob. It's kinda our motto. Just take things day by day and try to get better as you go. Don't expect to earn a million (or be perfect) right away.

We had a baptism yesterday of two of our investigators. We started with a nice program in the chapel and all moved to the baptismal font. As I walked down the hallway, I saw a small commotion by the door of the font and learned the font had not yet been filled. Our ward members quickly jumped to the rescue and started setting up a TV so there would be something to hold the attention of those in attendance. We (the missionaries, the baptismal candidates, and the ward mission leader) started filling custodial buckets with water and pouring them into the font to "hasten the work".

We managed to get the font full in about 30 or 40 minutes, which was a miracle. After the baptism our investigators bore simple testimony about the truthfulness of the gospel and I felt completely at peace. It made everything worth it. Of course, it would have been better if everything had gone perfectly. But, life sometimes gets in the way, and we (as children of God) just have to help each other get over our mistakes and learn from them. Pointing fingers and blaming others does not good. I was reminded of the primary song "When we're helping we're happy". Part of living the gospel includes helping and serving others and our investigators learned that sooner than others. It was still a good day. They called themselves "The Janitor Boyz" after today.

It's such a blessing to be here serving a mission and it's easily the most rewarding and fulfilling thing I've ever done. I love you all.

About Me

Serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Philippines Quezon City North Mission
September 2014 - March 2016
Want to find out more about what I'm doing on my mission? Visit mormon.org